Newcastle United fans will of course never have doubted it, but Lewis Hall just announced himself as one of the best defenders in the world on the grandest stage of them all.
Indeed, Hall was brilliant as Newcastle United drew with Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday night, shutting down Lamine Yamal with relative ease.
While it is true that Yamal scored, that came from a late penalty – the concession of which did not involve Hall.
Who was Newcastle United’s best player against Barcelona and why?
The Newcastle United defender’s performance against Barca was little short of remarkable and proved he really is one of the best defenders in the world.
Lewis Hall’s brilliant statistics against Lamine Yamal
Yamal, of course, is arguably the world’s greatest player on his day, and he’d warmed up for this one by scoring four goals in his last two games.
The Spanish international, however, was largely shut down here.
As per FotMob data, Hall won six of the nine duels he contested on Tuesday night, while making one interception, seven ball recoveries and one clearance. Crucially, he wasn’t dribbled past once.
Yamal was his direct opponent and, penalty aside, he didn’t create a chance, while being limited to only three touches in Newcastle’s box.
Name a better left-back in Newcastle United’s history than Lewis Hall 👇
I'll wait…
The fact that Hall was able to shut down a world class player surely proves the 21-year-old belongs in that category. It’s difficult to think of many better left-backs around right now, both in the Premier League and beyond.
Frankly, this is a world class talent.
England manager Thomas Tuchel surely cannot overlook him ahead of the World Cup later this summer.
Hall is very highly rated in English football and this kind of performance will no doubt gain recognition from those outside it too.
Watching him on perhaps the biggest night of his career and still proving able to flourish was a wonderful sight to behold, particularly for those Newcastle fans who remember his initial struggles on Tyneside.
Newcastle United’s late heartbreak sums up the season so far
Hall and his Newcastle teammates played so well against Barca but were eventually denied what would have been a famous victory.
That, in truth, sums up the 2025/26 campaign thus far. Bright moments and a competitive spirit, but just that one final step away from being an elite team.
Newcastle deserve credit but they now have a huge task next week out in Spain.
Still, with Hall in the team, perhaps anything is possible…
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